Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer.

Chemotherapy means treatment with drugs. , in its most general sense, refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of micro-organisms or cancer. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy this means it affects the whole body by going through the bloodstream. The purpose of chemotherapy and other systemic treatments is to get rid of any cancer cells for example breast cancer that may have spread from where the cancer started to another part of the body.
Chemotherapy is much easier to tolerate today than even a few years ago. And for many women it's an important "insurance policy" against cancer recurrence. It's also important to remember that organs in which the cells do not divide rapidly, such as the liver and kidneys, are rarely affected by chemotherapy. And doctors and nurses will keep close track of side effects and can treat most of them to improve the way you feel.
Chemotherapy is effective against cancer cells because the drugs love to interfere with rapidly dividing cells. The side effects of chemotherapy come about because cancer cells aren't the only rapidly dividing cells in your body. The cells in your blood, mouth, intestinal tract, nose, nails, vagina, and hair are also undergoing constant, rapid division. This means that the chemotherapy is going to affect them, too.
But in cancer treatment it means 'cytotoxic chemotherapy' – drugs that kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy uses these cytotoxic drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs work by disrupting the growth of cancer cells. As they circulate in the blood, they can reach them wherever they are in your body.

The drugs can't tell the difference between cancer cells and normal cells. They just kill cells that are actively growing and dividing into new cells. Cancer cells do this much more often than normal cells, so they are more likely to be killed by the treatment. Cancer cells are not as good at repairing themselves as normal cells. Normal cells can often repair any damage caused by chemotherapy. Over time, cancer cells become more resistant to chemotherapy treatments. Recently, scientists have identified small pumps on the surface of cancer cells that actively move chemotherapy from inside the cell to the outside.

For breast cancer treatment, you may have chemotherapy.There are a number of strategies in the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatments like breast cancer.
Combined modality chemotherapy is the use of drugs with other cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy or surgery. Combination chemotherapy is a similar practice that involves treating a patient with a number of different drugs simultaneously. The biggest advantage is minimising the chances of resistance developing to any one agent.
In neoadjuvant chemotherapy (preoperative treatment) initial chemotherapy is designed to shrink the primary tumour, thereby rendering local therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) less destructive or more effective.
Adjuvant chemotherapy (postoperative treatment) can be used when there is little evidence of cancer present, but there is risk of recurrence. Palliative chemotherapy is given without curative intent, but simply to decrease tumor load and increase life expectancy. All chemotherapy regimens require that the patient be capable of undergoing the treatment.